I think the people who made the bike (and wrote the manual) know better than the dealer. If I'd just invested in a brand new bike - no small chunk of change, by my standards - I'd certainly do my best to abide by what the manual has to say.

Anyway, you can knock out 500 miles in a weekend, easy. I say follow the manual's recommendation. Probably not a make-or-break kind of thing, but why not play it safe?

 

Engine load is the critical part of the break in process by keeping RPM low you can still cause damage by overloading the engine at low RPM putting excessive pressure on cylinder walls. During Break in you seating the piston rings to the cylinder wall to get a good seal. but by running in such low RPM your not heating the engine up and operating the pistons/rings in their operating range.

If you keep Engine load down and bringing up RPMs gently to get up to speed in normal operating RPM say 4 to 6K (a guess for the 650) the rings will seat faster for the optimal heat and RPM range for the engine.

New engines are built to operating up to the Max RPM right out of the box, their parts are built for it. Be easy on the engine keep load down but don't worry about RPM though of course don't go balls to the walls.

Drive normals speed vary your RPMs as much as possible but keep engine load low...match throttle and acceleration, no excessive twisting.

 

It would make sense to go through a high-RPM break in process to properly seat the piston rings. Yes, the manufacturer is indeed much too conservative. Ride it like you stole it for a couple of minutes at a time once in a while, and preferably at least once right when you get the bike (within the first 40 miles or so).

You're not going to cause harm. Just don't forget to change the oil, I think that first oil change comes really really soon.

Anyway, you can knock out 500 miles in a weekend, easy. I say follow the manual's recommendation. Probably not a make-or-break kind of thing, but why not play it safe?

Because improperly seated piston rings is a problem that will lower his performance for the rest of his bike's life.

 

Thanks for all your responses!! Definitely will help wonders. I want to get it right. She's going to be with me a long time.

 

Just ride the damn thing. They take it to redline on the dyno like 5 minutes after the bike is built.

Just don't rev the piss out of it when the engine is cold.

 

Hey guys. This past weekend I traded in my 06 500 for an 09 650 (see Other Motorcycle Talk [/color] for thread).

The book told me to stay at 4k RPMs for 500 miles[/color].... I'll try to stay near there but that is hard to do. Then from 500 miles to 1000 it says to be around 6 or 8k RPM's [/color] (i forget which one of the two).

My dealer just said to take it through different RPMs and different gears for awhile. Get it used to everything.. this sounds like it kinda goes against what the manual says...

Any tips are much appreciated!! And I hope no one is upset that I posted here now that i do not have a 500. I am the same rider/community member. I'm still a Ninja[/color] brother!

Most manuals say something to the effect that you ought to not to exceed some RPM for extended periods during various stages of break-in. It's not that you can't go above, briefly, if you need to, but you shouldn't stay above that RPM if you can avoid it. Many also suggest varying gear and rpm throughout the break-in - ie. don't keep it at 4000rpm the whole time.

As to what you should do? The internet is filled with opinions, very few of which are backed with anything more than individual anecdotes, ranging from revving the snot out of it right out of the box to babying it, with frequent oil changes during break-in, to going with the 600mi oil change advocated in the manual and everything inbetween.

When it comes down to it, there's a recommended break-in procedure that the manufacturer dictates, and that's the one that's warranty approved. Unless someone wants to provide a warranty to go with their alternate theories, is it worth it to you to listen to them?

 

Most manuals say something to the effect that you ought to not to exceed some RPM for extended periods during various stages of break-in. It's not that you can't go above, briefly, if you need to, but you shouldn't stay above that RPM if you can avoid it. Many also suggest varying gear and rpm throughout the break-in - ie. don't keep it at 4000rpm the whole time.

As to what you should do? The internet is filled with opinions, very few of which are backed with anything more than individual anecdotes, ranging from revving the snot out of it right out of the box to babying it, with frequent oil changes during break-in, to going with the 600mi oil change advocated in the manual and everything inbetween.

When it comes down to it, there's a recommended break-in procedure that the manufacturer dictates, and that's the one that's warranty approved. Unless someone wants to provide a warranty to go with their alternate theories, is it worth it to you to listen to them?

Not really. They won't know how you ran the bike unless you do something stupid like redline it in every gear. Otherwise, your warranty isn't going to last as long as the power you'll want to have throughout the life of the engine with properly seated piston rings.

There is proof that proper high RPM break in seats the rings properly. I forget where the link is, but someone on the forum linked a page made by someone that shows pistons and rings from bikes that have been broken in properly compared to bikes that were babied with the manufacturer's recommendations. It was pretty night and day.

edit: Here are two links that suggest short periods of high-RPM break-in technique:
http://www.ntnoa.org/enginebreakin.htm
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

You don't want to do long periods of high-RPM break-in because excessive heat will also seat the piston rings improperly. Read both articles fully to get a good understanding of the logic of short bursts of high-RPM break-in.

The second article also mentions to use regular and not synthetic oil for the break in period, which also makes some sense.

 

Ride it normal.
Nothing bad will happen I promise.

(note: "normal" does not mean shifting at 10k either.)

(Unless you are dragknee)

 

Also, for whats its worth....Im an auto tech and when we get new car inspections do frequent full throttle'ing.
Never any side effects to this. And new cars come to our dealer with 9-11 miles on them.

 

Just ride the bike please. don't pay any attention to the RPM warning. Kawasaki does (or at least DID) a Dyno run after final assembly on every motorcycle that takes it up to 100% Throttle, full RPM.

so please, just ride it.

 

I followed Kawasaki's recommended break-in. It was boring. You will have a top speed of about 50mph in 6th gear for those first 500 miles. I got mine past that quickly by riding it to work (84 miles per day). People in cars got mad at me though for going under the speed limit. But, you bought a brand new bike and want it to last as long as possible. I'd follow it. Once you get those first 500 miles off, it gets a lot better. That was actually one of the reasons I bought a new bike; I assumed most people got bored and didn't follow the break-in recommendation and I knew I would.

 

Follow the manufacturers procedure,They spent alot of time adn money to come up with this procedure and found the best possible way to break in the motor they designed and built. We all have our beliefs, but FOLLOW THE MANUFACTURER RECOMMENDATIONS.

 

Somehow I doubt they spent the time and money to come up with the procedure, since the procedure is the same across the whole board.

There's only logic to be found here, and the logic for bursts of high-RPM for proper break in is favorable. The worst that can happen is... nothing, unless you think "burst" means "riding at 8k RPM for minutes at a time". The worst that can happen by following the same instructions they've had for 3 decades is a loss of maximum power over the lifespan of the piston rings.

 

Ride it normal.
Nothing bad will happen I promise.

(note: "normal" does not mean shifting at 10k either.)

^^^^^
this


then change the oil after a couple hundred miles.

 

(note: "normal" does not mean shifting at 10k either.)

for me it does.

 

(note: "normal" does not mean shifting at 10k either.)

for me it does.

Point noted and post modified.

 

Somehow I doubt they spent the time and money to come up with the procedure, since the procedure is the same across the whole board.

They paid engineers quite a bit to test and develop a procedure for best break in across the board. I am glad there are so many here thet know more than the people the designed, built and tested these bikes to get this procedure. If you dont follow it the wort that can happen is your rings not seat properly. Do yourself a favor and dont try to outsmart years or research. I know ists not specifically for the ninja , but the procedure was tested. besides It should only atake a few days to get to 1000 miles anyhow.

 

Somehow I doubt they spent the time and money to come up with the procedure, since the procedure is the same across the whole board.

They paid engineers quite a bit to test and develop a procedure for best break in across the board. I am glad there are so many here thet know more than the people the designed, built and tested these bikes to get this procedure. If you dont follow it the wort that can happen is your rings not seat properly. Do yourself a favor and dont try to outsmart years or research. I know ists not specifically for the ninja , but the procedure was tested. besides It should only atake a few days to get to 1000 miles anyhow.

No amount of testing research by engineers will ever compare to the testing research of the thousands upon thousands of people that have tested it themselves through personal experience. I'm not saying they're wrong with their break-in, but at this point it might as well be an urban myth that there's no other way to properly break in an engine. You have a collective millions of years of experience of racing professionals on these engines.

 

Somehow I doubt they spent the time and money to come up with the procedure, since the procedure is the same across the whole board.

They paid engineers quite a bit to test and develop a procedure for best break in across the board. I am glad there are so many here thet know more than the people the designed, built and tested these bikes to get this procedure. If you dont follow it the wort that can happen is your rings not seat properly. Do yourself a favor and dont try to outsmart years or research. I know ists not specifically for the ninja , but the procedure was tested. besides It should only atake a few days to get to 1000 miles anyhow.

I don't believe the engineers had a say in the manual about operation of the engine, i believe those break-in procedures we're designed to guard against premature failure of a defective product down the road.

you can operate it at normal operating RPM 4-6K just be gentle getting there, warm it up but break it in at operating ranges.

 

more important than rpm, is that you aren't lugging it, letting it idle excessively, overrevving the gears (not shifting when you need to and letting it slowly wind out), and that you change the oil on time.
congratulations on your purchase,
(and if it was me I would definitely be doing more than a few WOT runs to ake sure those rings and cylinder walls are good to go!)

 

they did rev it to redline as soon as it was born, but they did that so they would know it wouldn't blow up from an engine default when the owner takes it up to the redline, its just a quick test to make sure the bike is up to par and ready for the road.


Car manufactures do not do this, but I can also name at least TWO cases of someone buying a brand new car and it had massive engine failure in the first month of ownership.

 

I recall FOG and others saying, very early in the engine's life, you want to take it at full throttle, from low revs up to redline, to seat the piston rings.

 

Also, for whats its worth....Im an auto tech and when we get new car inspections do frequent full throttle'ing.
Never any side effects to this. And new cars come to our dealer with 9-11 miles on them.

I don't know . . .

If I were a cynical person, I'd read that as 'a bunch of ethically challenged mechanics guaranteeing future repair business.'

Oh, wait! That is the way I read it.

 

Somehow I doubt they spent the time and money to come up with the procedure, since the procedure is the same across the whole board.

They paid engineers quite a bit to test and develop a procedure for best break in across the board. I am glad there are so many here thet know more than the people the designed, built and tested these bikes to get this procedure. If you dont follow it the wort that can happen is your rings not seat properly. Do yourself a favor and dont try to outsmart years or research. I know ists not specifically for the ninja , but the procedure was tested. besides It should only atake a few days to get to 1000 miles anyhow.

No amount of testing research by engineers will ever compare to the testing research of the thousands upon thousands of people that have tested it themselves through personal experience. I'm not saying they're wrong with their break-in, but at this point it might as well be an urban myth that there's no other way to properly break in an engine. You have a collective millions of years of experience of racing professionals on these engines.

Ok, but I want to know how many of these people kept their bike for a long time. They may say the way they broke it in was fine, but how would we know if they sold it with less than 10k miles on it? Especially bikes like the 500 and 650 that are often only used as starter bikes. They get sold to someone else long before we know if ignoring the break in period was ok. Unless you are planning on getting rid of the bike in a year or 2, I think you should follow the manufacturer's recommended break in period.

Some of you also rev your bikes to 7k leaving your driveway. While the engine is still warming up I shift more like 4.5k rpm. I really try not to womp on a cold engine be it bike, car, truck or tractor.

 

I ignored the break in procedure for my CBR. There's 9000+ on the clock, but there's also a lot of track miles on it too. I haven't been gentle to it.

not one failure yet.